<big>'''Complete Guide to Waze in the Canada'''</big> (Under Development)

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<big>'''Complete Guide to Waze in Canada'''</big>

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* Since the USA and Canada share the same Waze server, please refer to USA link in the left menu bar for additional information.

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*Since the USA and Canada share the same Waze server, many of the policies and best practices that have been developed for the US also apply to Canada. This page contains information that is unique to Canada. Because some of it is still being developed, please [[USA|follow the guidance for the US]] where it is not in conflict with the information here.

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* This page should also available in [[Canada (French)|French]]. See "Use your language skills" below.

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*This page is now in development and available in [[Canada (Français)|French]].

See http://www.canadapost.ca/tools/pg/manual/PGaddress-e.asp#1423617 for full details in English and French.

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Please see the article [[Getting Started]].

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* Canada Post also published the abbreviations for provinces and territories [http://www.canadapost.ca/tools/pg/manual/PGaddress-e.asp#1380608]

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Another great resource for new map editors is the [[Welcome to WME]].

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e.g. Whitehorse, YT Toronto, ON Charlottetown PE

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* For wide roads (at least 3 lanes on each direction) with two directions of traffic, consider [[Best_map_editing_practice#When_.28Not.29_to_Split_a_Two-Way_Road|the best map editing practice for North America]] so that a GPS lock will be made correctly. Note: standard lane width is about 3.5m, typical GPS accuracy is about 10-20m. '''Generally, splitting a road is not desirable.'''

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== Help Improve Waze ==

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=== Unlock Requests ===

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Please see the article [[Help Improve Waze]]

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Canada has its own forum area for unlock requests. Please [http://www.waze.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=358|post your requests here].

Feel free to post questions and ask for advice in your editing. Our region is very different in a number of ways from the United States, so the generic editing guidelines don't always apply.

== Area/Country Managers ==

== Area/Country Managers ==

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If you are an Area Manager that covers the Country of Canada, or a Canadian Country Manager that does a lot of work in Canada, please add yourself to this list. See comments via an "Edit" of this section to add yourself.

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{| border="1" cellpadding="2"

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If you are an Area Manager that covers part of Canada, or a Country Manager that does a lot of work in Canada, please add yourself to this list. See comments via an "Edit" of this section to add yourself.

This form allows for complete (or directional, i.e. A->B only) closures to be reported. Partial closures (i.e. one of two lanes in a direction) should not be reported.

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===Saskatchewan===

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Major Events (e.g. Commonwealth Games, Tour d'Alberta, etc.) should still be dealt with using the Waze Major Events form.

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===Manitoba===

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This method is preferred over adding restrictions -- it is nearly immediate (processed several times per day by Waze staff), and does not rely on a tile rebuild. The closure will also be visible in the app and on the livemap, in addition to avoiding routing through the segment.

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===Ontario===

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== Problems and Issues ==

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===Quebec===

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The [[Montreal Area]] has unique issues of its own.

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===Newfoundland / Labrador===

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== U-Turns ==

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===New Brunswick===

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'''Practical application in Waze:''' restrict all u-turns in Canada unless there is a sign outright permitting them.

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===Nova Scotia===

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===Prince Edward Island===

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British Columbia Statute: [http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bclaws_new/document/LOC/freeside/--%20M%20--/46_Motor%20Vehicle%20Act%20RSBC%201996%20c.%20318/00_Act/96318_05.xml#section168 Motor Vehicle Act of British Columbia]

Towns, cities villages etc... To save space just put in the name of the city, example "Toronto" '''not''' "City of Toronto", or for smaller places use "Springfield" '''not''' "Town of Springfield" or "Village of Springfield".

Towns, cities villages etc... To save space just put in the name of the city, example "Toronto" '''not''' "City of Toronto", or for smaller places use "Springfield" '''not''' "Town of Springfield" or "Village of Springfield".

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'''Please avoid''' the use of the province after the place. For example don't put in "Springfield, Qc" or "Springfield, On" because it is known to make two towns in the same place, and is almost impossible to eradicate. Many towns have "Springfield" and "Springfield, Qc" in the same area which confuses things which we're trying to avoid.

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'''''NEVER '''include the province in the City field.'' For example don't put in "Springfield, Qc" or "Springfield, On".

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If you find a city that can't save without the province name (perhaps it changes when you save it, or generates other save error), please post a message in the applicable province's forum.

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This applies to both primary names and alternate names -- the alternate city is assumed to be in the primary province and country.

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== Road Naming ==

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=== Highways ===

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'''Minor/Major Highways'''&nbsp;should be named in this format:

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::'''Hwy #'''&nbsp;(H is capitalized, the 'wy' in lower case, followed by a number)&nbsp;'''e.g. Hwy 16'''<br/>

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::'''Not'''&nbsp;'Highway #' or 'HWY # (all caps)'.

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::<br/>

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::Where the signage indicates the highway based on a name ("Lougheed Hwy" or "Sooke Rd"), the name should be used. &nbsp;If, however, the signage refers to it by number primarily, that is to be the primary name, regardless of the local knowledge (e.g. the Sea-to-Sky Highway is signed as Hwy 99).

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=== Abbreviations ===

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Please follow the [http://www.canadapost.ca/tools/pg/manual/PGaddress-e.asp#1423617 Canada Post street type abbreviation] to reduce map clutter by not using long road type name.

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See [http://www.canadapost.ca/tools/pg/manual/PGaddress-e.asp#1423617 http://www.canadapost.ca/tools/pg/manual/PGaddress-e.asp#1423617] for full details in English and French.

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Check to make sure that the Canada Post Abbreviation has a working TTS. If it does not, then default to the [[Abbreviations_and_acronyms|Waze TTS List]].

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Additionally, please do not shorten names when they are integral to understanding the street name:

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e.g. Bad: N St, S St, Ave Rd

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e.g. Good: North St, South St, Avenue Rd

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Recommend using the [http://script.google.com/d/1dytdT138pmatjAA9RgIU5ag6dIMxXUvh-GOx-0IqsoM10Nj7GpIhQMfL/edit?usp=sharing Custom Canadian WME Validator Script]. It will highlight all the incorrectly abbreviated street names.

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<center>

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{| Border=1 style=text-align:left

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|+ '''Streetname Abbreviations'''

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! Approved Abbreviation

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! Pronunciation

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! Do Not Use

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|-

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| Alley || Alley || Aly

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|-

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| Aut ||Autoroute|| Autoroute

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|-

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|Bend|| Bend|| Bnd

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|-

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|Blvd|| Boulevard|| Boulevard

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|-

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|Brg|| Bridge|| Bridge

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|-

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|Bypass|| Bypass|| By-pass

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|-

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|Carref|| Carrefour|| Carrefour

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|-

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|Ctr|| Centre|| Centre, Center

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|-

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|Ch|| Chemin|| Chemin

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|-

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|Cir|| Circle|| Circle

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|-

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|Circt|| Circuit|| Circuit, Cct

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|-

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|Close|| Close|| Cl

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|-

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|Common|| Common|| Common, Cmn

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|-

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|Conc|| Concession|| Concession

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|-

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|Crnrs|| Corners ||Corners,Cors

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|-

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|Crt|| Court|| Court, Ct

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|-

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|Cove|| Cove|| Cv

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|-

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|Cres|| Crescent|| Crescent, Cr

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|-

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|Crois|| Croissant|| Croissant

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|-

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|Cross|| Crossing|| Crossing, Xing

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|-

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|Cds|| Cul-de-sac|| Cul-de-sac

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|-

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|Divers|| Diversion|| Diversion

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|-

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|Dr|| Drive|| Drive

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|-

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|Éch|| Échangeur|| Échangeur

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|-

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|Espl|| Esplanade|| Esplanade

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|-

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|Estate|| Estates|| Estates

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|-

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|Expy|| Expressway|| Expressway, Expwy

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|-

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|Exten||Extension||Extension,Ext

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|-

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|Field||Field||Fld

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|-

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|Gdns||Gardens||Gardens

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|-

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|Glen||Glen||Gln

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|-

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|Green||Green||Grn

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|-

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|Grnds||Grounds||Grounds

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|-

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|Grove||Grove||Grv

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|-

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|Harbr||Harbour||Harbour, Harbor, Hbr

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|-

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|Hts||Heights||Heights

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|-

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|Hwy||Highway||Highway

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|-

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|Hghlds||Highlands||Highlands

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|-

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|Hill||Hill||Hl

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|-

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|Hollow||Hollow||Holw

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|-

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|Imp||Impasse||Impasse

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|-

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|Inlet||Inlet||Inlt

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|-

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|Island||Island||Is

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|-

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|Knoll||Knoll||Knl

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|-

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|Landng||Landing||Landing,Lndg

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|-

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|Lane||Lane||Ln

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|-

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|Lmts||Limits||Limits

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|-

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|Lkout||Lookout||Lookout

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|-

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|Manor||Manor||Mnr

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|-

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|Meadow||Meadow||Mdw

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|-

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|Mount||Mount||Mt

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|-

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|Mtn||Mountain||Mountain

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|-

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|Orch||Orchard||Orchard

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|-

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|Pk||Park||Park

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|-

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|Pky||Parkway||Parkway, Pkwy

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|-

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|-

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|Psge||Passage||Passage,Pass

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|-

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|Ptway||Pathway||Pathway

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|-

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|Pines||Pines||Pnes

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|-

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|Pl||Place||Place

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|-

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|Plat||Plateau||Plateau

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|-

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|Plaza||Plaza||Plz

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|-

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|Pt||Point||Point

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|-

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|Port||Port||Prt

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|-

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|Pvt||Private||Private

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|-

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|Prom||Promenade||Promenade

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|-

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|Rg||Range||Range

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|-

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|Ridge||Ridge||Rdge

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|-

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|Rd||Road||Road

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|-

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|Rdpt||Rond-point||Rond-point

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|-

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|Rte||Route||Route

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|-

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|Rle||Ruelle||Ruelle

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|-

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|Sent||Sentier||Sentier

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|-

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|Sq||Square||Square

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|-

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|Subdiv||Subdivision||Subdivision

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|-

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|St||Street||Street

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|-

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|Terr||Terrace||Terrace, Ter, Tce

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|-

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|Tsse||Terrasse||Terrasse

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|-

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|Thick||Thicket||Thicket

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|-

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|Tline||Townline||Townline

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|-

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|Trail||Trail||Trl

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|-

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|Trnabt||Turnabout||Turnabout

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|-

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|Villge||Village||Village, Vlg

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|}

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</center>

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<br>

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== Road Types ==

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=== Within Metropolitan Areas ===

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In the US, the DOT has a Functional Classification system which had been adopted by Waze Champs as the method for classifying different road types. Overall, this has resulted in use of the highway types for arterial roads in the metropolitan areas, with the Primary Street type being available for collector-type roads.

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Unfortunately, we don't have the same standardized government-published maps to adopt here, but we can consider many of the same principles. This was first looked at in Edmonton, and seems to have been met with great success.

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With that in mind, we'd like to consider the following criteria for use within metropolitan areas and any city with a population exceeding ~40,000. In the event that the infrastructure of a smaller city has been designed with arterial routes, this may be adopted there, but will typically be less obvious.

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If the local government has published maps that define arterial and collector routes, please use those to set the street types.

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==== Changing of Types ====

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===Changing of Types===

As a highway enters a city/town, it often becomes a named street, and sometimes would no longer fit the usual criteria for a "highway".

As a highway enters a city/town, it often becomes a named street, and sometimes would no longer fit the usual criteria for a "highway".

Due to a number of reasons, including long-distance routing issues, as well as appearance, the highway should remain as the same type it entered the city/town (except if it's a Freeway -- if it no longer fits the Freeway criteria, it may be downgraded to Major Highway until it is again a Freeway).

Due to a number of reasons, including long-distance routing issues, as well as appearance, the highway should remain as the same type it entered the city/town (except if it's a Freeway -- if it no longer fits the Freeway criteria, it may be downgraded to Major Highway until it is again a Freeway).

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===Trans-Canada Highway===

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The road type designation should follow the entire numbered route.

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http://www.waze.com/wiki/images/4/41/RoadBlue.png

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Road type: Freeway<br />

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==== Freeways ====

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Primary name: Hwy 1<br />

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Alternate: Trans-Canada Hwy<br />

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There are parts of Hwy 1 that travel through some National/Provincial parks with frequent stops, reduced speed and undivided portions. These segments should be reduced to a Major Highway until the speed increases, stops are minimized and the highway is divided again.

**Access restrictions vary by region but some typical restrictions are:

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***No pedestrians

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***No bicycles

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***No mopeds

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***No Animal-Drawn Vehicles

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**Entrance ramps are typically designed with an acceleration zone so that cars can accelerate up to freeway speeds before merging into freeway traffic

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**Exit ramps are typically designed with a deceleration zone so that traffic can exit the freeway at freeway speeds without obstructing traffic, then have sufficient distance to slow down before any turns

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Autoroutes, or limited access highways, such as the 20/40/55 or any *40 are considered freeways

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When considering the road type, use the above noted Freeway classification as a guideline, with the idea that a Canadian "Freeway" may lack one of the criteria (e.g. Whitemud Freeway in Edmonton is 80 km/h, but meets all other criteria; Hwy 16 W of Edmonton doesn't have ramps for every junction, but meets all other criteria)

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==== Major Highway ====

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[[Image:Majorhighwayseg.png]]

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Use for major arterial roads. Often these have 2-3 lanes (or more) in each direction, and may be structured to be turned into freeways eventually. Usually this means relatively few intersections, higher speed limit, and higher capacity.

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Additionally, if a road enters an area as a Freeway, but then loses its limited-access situation, it will generally continue on as a Major Highway.

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If only one type of arterial is used by the municipality on their maps, the decision between a "major" and a "minor" will be that of relative importance and capacity. Generally, a "major" will have 2+ lanes, whereas a minor may only have one. Local knowledge is also especially useful in determining this.

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==== Minor Highway ====

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[[Image:RoadYell.png]]

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Use for arterial roads. They are more direct than using collector roads and sometimes have slightly increased speed limits.

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==== Primary Street ====

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[[Image:Primary street.png]]

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Suitable for collector roads through neighbourhoods and thoroughfares that aren't arterial.

There are parts of the TCH that travel through National/Provincial parks with frequent stops, reduced speed and undivided portions. These segments should be reduced to a Major Highway until the speed increases, stops are minimized or the highway is divided again.

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==== Quebec Roads ====

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[[Image:RoadBlue.png]]

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Autoroutes, or limited access highways, such as the 20/40/55 or any *40 are considered freeways

The big exception to this rule is Autoroute 50 which is still a freeway, even though some small parts of it are not limited access and some are only two lane with no divider.

The big exception to this rule is Autoroute 50 which is still a freeway, even though some small parts of it are not limited access and some are only two lane with no divider.

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The official road map of Quebec should be consulted to determine the status of provincial routes. The map is available in [http://www.quebec511.gouv.qc.ca/fr/carte_routiere/ French] and [http://www.quebec511.gouv.qc.ca/en/carte_routiere/? English].

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The official road map of Quebec should be consulted to determine the status of provincial routes. The map is available in [http://www.quebec511.gouv.qc.ca/fr/carte_routiere/ French] and [http://www.quebec511.gouv.qc.ca/en/carte_routiere/? English].

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http://www.waze.com/wiki/images/2/28/Majorhighwayseg.png

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[[Image:Majorhighwayseg.png]]

Major highways on the map are in depicted in red and should be red in Waze.

Major highways on the map are in depicted in red and should be red in Waze.

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http://www.waze.com/wiki/images/3/37/RoadYell.png

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[[Image:RoadYell.png]]

Minor highways in yellow-orange on the map should be in yellow.

Minor highways in yellow-orange on the map should be in yellow.

Line 136:

Line 470:

A very general rule of thumb is that 100-series highways are in red while 200 and 300-series highways are in yellow. This is not completely accurate, however, so please consult the official map.

A very general rule of thumb is that 100-series highways are in red while 200 and 300-series highways are in yellow. This is not completely accurate, however, so please consult the official map.

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n.b. also, the [[Montreal Area]] has its own rules.

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==== Ontario Roads ====

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===Ontario Roads===

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[[Image:RoadBlue.png]]

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http://www.waze.com/wiki/images/4/41/RoadBlue.png

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All 400 series highways are in blue as they are limited access freeways. Also other highways, for example the 174 just east of Ottawa, are in blue as they are limited access.

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all 400 series highways are in blue as they are limited access freeways. Also other highways for example the 174 just east of Ottawa are also in blue as they are limited access.

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[[Image:Majorhighwayseg.png]]

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http://www.waze.com/wiki/images/2/28/Majorhighwayseg.png

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Certain Major highways are two lane but are still in red because they collect the minor highways, and many county roads and we need to distinguish them, examples are the 174 east of Ottawa/Orleans, the 17, the 138, 38 the 7 in eastern Ontario.

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Certain Major highways are two lane but are still in red because they collect the minor highways, and many county roads and we need to distinguish them, examples are the 174 east of Ottawa/Orleans, the 17, the 138, 38 the 7 in eastern Ontario.

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[[Image:RoadYell.png]]

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http://www.waze.com/wiki/images/3/37/RoadYell.png

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County roads may be in yellow if they have higher speed limits than most main roads around them. Not all county roads should be designated "Minor Highway" -- grid roads should be addressed like Alberta's Range / Township Roads.

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County roads will be in yellow as they have higher speed limits them most main roads.

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==== Alberta Roads ====

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===Alberta Roads===

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[[Image:RoadBlue.png]]

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http://www.waze.com/wiki/images/4/41/RoadBlue.png

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Freeways in Canada need to follow a different standard than in the US.

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Freeways in Canada need to follow a different standard than in the US.

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Currently in Alberta, only ring roads (perimeter roads around a city), Hwy 1 (including the highways Hwy 1 splits into), Hwy 2, Hwy 16, and any highways with limited access (e.g. highways with no traffic lights, and access is exclusive to ramps entrances).

Currently in Alberta, only ring roads (perimeter roads around a city), Hwy 1 (including the highways Hwy 1 splits into), Hwy 2, Hwy 16, and any highways with limited access (e.g. highways with no traffic lights, and access is exclusive to ramps entrances).

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When considering the road type, use the [[Map_Legend#Road_Type_Classifications:|rules for the US]] as a guideline, with the idea that a Canadian "Freeway" may lack one of the criteria used in the US (e.g. Whitemud Freeway in Edmonton is 80 km/h, but meets all other criteria; Hwy 16 W of Edmonton doesn't have ramps for every junction, but meets all other criteria)

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When considering the road type, use the above noted Freeway classification as a guideline, with the idea that a Canadian "Freeway" may lack one of the criteria (e.g. Whitemud Freeway in Edmonton is 80 km/h, but meets all other criteria; Hwy 16 W of Edmonton doesn't have ramps for every junction, but meets all other criteria)

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http://www.waze.com/wiki/images/2/28/Majorhighwayseg.png

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[[Image:Majorhighwayseg.png]]

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http://www.waze.com/wiki/images/3/37/RoadYell.png

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[[Image:RoadYell.png]]

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'''Minor/Major Highways''' should be named in this format:<br />

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:: '''Hwy #''' (H is capitalized, the 'wy' in lower case, followed by a number) '''e.g. Hwy 216'''<br />

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:: '''Not''' 'Highway #' or 'HWY # (all caps)'.

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Generally highways in the 1–216 series are major highways (except when they are freeways), and highways in the 500–999 series are minor highways. However, a highway with a letter suffix in its number should generally be one type lower than the corresponding highway without the letter suffix. For example Hwy 2A is major highway, one type lower than Hwy 2 (freeway), and Hwy 13A in Camrose is minor highway, one type lower than Hwy 13 (major highway).

Generally highways in the 1–216 series are major highways (except when they are freeways), and highways in the 500–999 series are minor highways. However, a highway with a letter suffix in its number should generally be one type lower than the corresponding highway without the letter suffix. For example Hwy 2A is major highway, one type lower than Hwy 2 (freeway), and Hwy 13A in Camrose is minor highway, one type lower than Hwy 13 (major highway).

Line 174:

Line 502:

Some highways in the 500–999 series are gravel, and this raises a dilemma for Waze editors because Waze lacks a road type for all-weather gravel roads. The consensus is to use "Dirt road / 4X4 Trail" for gravel highways in regions where paved alternative routes are available for many destinations, but to use "Minor Highway" in regions where there are no paved alternatives.

Some highways in the 500–999 series are gravel, and this raises a dilemma for Waze editors because Waze lacks a road type for all-weather gravel roads. The consensus is to use "Dirt road / 4X4 Trail" for gravel highways in regions where paved alternative routes are available for many destinations, but to use "Minor Highway" in regions where there are no paved alternatives.

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==== Township and Range Roads ====

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===== Township and Range Roads =====

Township and range roads are maintained and signed by the local municipal district (MD). Some MDs have chosen a numbering format with a hyphen before the last digit (e.g. “Township Rd 38-4”) but most have chosen a hyphenless format (e.g. “Range Rd 15”). In WME, the road names should follow the local format as used on the signs. Abbreviate “Rd” but leave “Township” and “Range” unabbreviated.

Township and range roads are maintained and signed by the local municipal district (MD). Some MDs have chosen a numbering format with a hyphen before the last digit (e.g. “Township Rd 38-4”) but most have chosen a hyphenless format (e.g. “Range Rd 15”). In WME, the road names should follow the local format as used on the signs. Abbreviate “Rd” but leave “Township” and “Range” unabbreviated.

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Township and Range roads are '''not''' highways and should be (at highest) Primary Street.

List (incomplete) of MDs that use hyphens: <!-- When adding, keep alphabetical order -->Clearwater County, Lacombe County, Mountain View County, Stettler County

List (incomplete) of MDs that use hyphens: <!-- When adding, keep alphabetical order -->Clearwater County, Lacombe County, Mountain View County, Stettler County

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==[[Technical Information]]==

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==== British Columbia Roads ====

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[[Image:RoadBlue.png]]

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Freeways in Canada need to follow a different standard than in the US.

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When considering the road type, use the above noted Freeway classification as a guideline, with the idea that a Canadian "Freeway" may lack one of the criteria (e.g. Whitemud Freeway in Edmonton is 80 km/h, but meets all other criteria; Hwy 16 W of Edmonton doesn't have ramps for every junction, but meets all other criteria)

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[[Image:Majorhighwayseg.png]]

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[[Image:RoadYell.png]]

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Highways are defined by the provincial numbering scheme. &nbsp;Any numbered route will be either a Freeway, Major Highway or Minor Highway, regardless of the use of stop lights or the path it takes through a city/town.

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Additionally, streets that are named "Highway" (e.g. Barnet Highway in Burnaby) may also receive a highway classification.

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Differentiation between a major and minor highway is largely based on its destination and importance of the route. &nbsp;Also,&nbsp;a highway with a letter suffix in its number should generally be one type lower than the corresponding highway without the letter suffix. For example Hwy 19A in Courtenay is major highway, one type lower than Hwy 19 (freeway), and Hwy 4A in Coombs is minor highway, one type lower than Hwy 4 (major highway).

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=== Alleys ===

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Alleys should not be added to the map. In some cases (e.g. Vancouver and Toronto areas), we have left the ones in place, but in most cases they should be removed.

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This is particularly relevant to basemapped areas that included them -- e.g. Saskatchewan -- small towns should certainly have the alleyways removed.

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In places where they are retained, they should have their city name set and the "None" box checked for Street Name. They should also be changed to Parking Lot street type.

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==Locking Standard==

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Canada has active "Traffic Locks", these locks are based on usage from users. They are limited to a max rank of 4, but can be any rank below.

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Segments that have restricted turns must be locked to a minimum Level 3.

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<span style="color: red"><b>If the current lock or traffic lock is higher than the minimum standards listed below, please don't lower the lock.</b></span>

PUR should be reviewed for accuracy, once approved all relevant information pertaining to the place should be entered. Please use each company's website to gather all the information you can. Once a place is complete please lock to rank 3.

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This practice will prevent app trusted users and most IGN editors from making incorrect changes to places we know are right. App trusted users and IGN editors are rarely rank 3.

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Following are general standards for place locking in Canada:

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<br>

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<center>

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{| Border=1 style=text-align:center

+

|+ '''Place Minimum Locking Rank Standard'''

+

! Place Type

+

! Minimum locks

+

|-

+

| Airports || 4

+

|-

+

| Hospitals || 4

+

|-

+

| Major Tourist Attractions/Landmarks || 4

+

|-

+

| Police/Fire Stations || 3

+

|-

+

| Gas Stations || 3

+

|}

+

</center>

+

<br>

+

+

===Telephone Number Format for Waze Places===

+

+

+1-NPA-NXX-XXXX

+

+

*NPA is http://www.nanpa.com/area_codes/

+

*NXX is the prefix

+

*XXXX is the last 4 digits

+

+

==Place Naming==

+

+

Place Naming in Canada should adhere to the following guidelines. Following the government agency naming guide is a list of businesses which are chains or franchises. Please use these name spellings when creating or updating a place.

+

+

===Hospitals===

+

+

Hospitals with Emergency Rooms must have a separate Waze Place with "ER/Urgence" prefixed in the primary name, for example:

+

+

:ER - Brampton Civic Hospital

+

:ER - St. Michael's Hospital

+

:Urgence - Hôpital de Verdun

+

+

===Government Agencies===

+

+

'''Police Stations''': City, Agency followed by division name, for example:

+

+

:Toronto Police 12 Division

+

:Peel Police 22 Division

+

:OPP Collingwood Detachment

+

+

'''Fire Stations''': City, Agency followed by station number, for example:

+

+

:Brampton Fire Station 221

+

:Toronto Fire Station 347

+

+

===Place Name Harmonization===

+

+

If you don't find the business you're looking for, please [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/13JwXsrWPNmCdfGR5OVr5jnGZw-uNGohwgjim-JYbSws/viewform use this form] to submit the missing information.

+

+

{{#widget:Google Spreadsheet

+

|key=1Jvo8J1wHTaqKT856IrmR_vKsbTs_skdu1qkFAkZNDPo

+

|width=100%

+

|height=700

+

|page=false}}

+

+

== When to use Area or Point in Canada ==

+

+

Here is the Canadian guidance on selecting Area or Point for Places in the Waze Map Editor.

+

+

'''Optional Area''' shall only be used after consulting local area managers on regional guidelines. The place must be a significant landmark with navigational value in the community. For example: a Tim Hortons in Hepburn, SK (population 500) is of significance. However, the same sized Tim Hortons is of zero significance in the Greater Toronto Area.

+

+

We do not want to impose hard & fast rules for the '''Optional Area''' category. Please use some judgement, we do not want to see wall-to-wall areas for every single building structure on the map.

+

+

'''Optional Area''' shall be landmarked to just the building structure only, do not include the parking lot area.

+

+

'''Fence-line Areas''' shall be landmarked from fence line to fence line to include all parking lots, roads, and anything associated with the property. Parking lot roads (PLRs), parking lots, and gas stations all serve the same purpose.

+

+

{{Red|The Primary Category for a Place is used to determine whether to use a Point or Area.}}

| Many gas stations also have convenience stores and ATMs. Remember to use "Gas Station" as the primary category and the add any others which are relevant. Please see the [[Places/Gas Station]] article.

+

|-

+

| Car Services

+

| [[Places/Parking lot|Parking Lot]]

+

| Both

+

| There are very few parking lots which should be mapped at all. Please see the [[Places/Parking lot]] article.

+

|-

+

| Transportation

+

| Airport

+

| Fence-line Area

+

| Special-handling

+

|-

+

| Transportation

+

| Bridge

+

| Area

+

| Should only be use for bridges with significance: Peace Bridge, Golden-gate Bridge

+

|-

+

| Transportation

+

| Bus Station

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Transportation

+

| Ferry Pier

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Transportation

+

| Junction / Interchange

+

| Area

+

| Will not be used in Canada.

+

|-

+

| Transportation

+

| Seaport / Marina / Harbor

+

| Area

+

| Size-dependent.

+

|-

+

| Transportation

+

| Subway Station

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Transportation

+

| Taxi Station

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Transportation

+

| Train Station

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Transportation

+

| Tunnel

+

| Area

+

|

+

|-

+

| Professional and public

+

| Cemetery

+

| Fence-line Area

+

|

+

|-

+

| Professional and public

+

| City Hall

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Professional and public

+

| College / University

+

| Area

+

|

+

|-

+

| Professional and public

+

| Conventions / Event Centre

+

| Area

+

| Size-dependent

+

|-

+

| Professional and public

+

| Courthouse

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above.

+

|-

+

| Professional and public

+

| Embassy / Consulate

+

| Area

+

|

+

|-

+

| Professional and public

+

| Factory / Industrial

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above.

+

|-

+

| Professional and public

+

| Fire Department

+

| Area

+

|

+

|-

+

| Professional and public

+

| Government

+

| Optional Area

+

|

+

|-

+

| Professional and public

+

| Hospital / Medical Care

+

| Area

+

| '''ONLY''' Hospitals, Emergency Rooms, and places offering '''''Urgent'' Medical Care''' should use this category. ERs encompassed in a hospital Place Area should be Points.

+

+

Clinics, and Medical offices which ''do not'' offer urgent medical care for Walk-Ins should use the Office, (and any other appropriate) category instead.

+

|-

+

| Professional and public

+

| Information Point

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above.

+

|-

+

| Professional and public

+

| Kindergarten

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Professional and public

+

| Library

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above.

+

|-

+

| Professional and public

+

| Military

+

| Area

+

|

+

|-

+

| Professional and public

+

| Offices

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above.

+

|-

+

| Professional and public

+

| Organization or Association

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Professional and public

+

| Police Station

+

| Area

+

|

+

|-

+

| Professional and public

+

| Prison / Correctional Facility

+

| Area

+

|

+

|-

+

| Professional and public

+

| Post Office

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Professional and public

+

| Religious Centre

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above.

+

|-

+

| Professional and public

+

| School

+

| Fence-line Area

+

|

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Arts & Crafts

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| ATM

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Bank / Financial

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Bookstore

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Car Dealership

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above.

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Car Rental

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Convenience Store

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Currency Exchange

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Department Store

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above.

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Electronics

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above.

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Fashion and Clothing

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above.

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Flowers

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Furniture / Home Store

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above.

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Gifts

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Gym / Fitness

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above.

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Hardware Store

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above.

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Jewellery

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Laundry / Dry Cleaning

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Market

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above.

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Music Store

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Personal Care

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Pet Store / Veterinarian

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above.

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Pharmacy

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above.

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Photography

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Shopping Centre

+

| Area

+

|

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Sporting Goods

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above.

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Supermarket / Grocery

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above. Must be a Point if it is part of larger shopping mall/center.

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Swimming Pool

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Toy Store

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above.

+

|-

+

| Shopping and services

+

| Travel Agency

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Food and drink

+

| Bakery

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Food and drink

+

| Bar

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Food and drink

+

| Coffee shop

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Food and drink

+

| Dessert

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Food and drink

+

| Fast Food

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Food and drink

+

| Food Court

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Food and drink

+

| Ice Cream

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Food and drink

+

| Restaurant

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Culture & entertainment

+

| Art Gallery

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above.

+

|-

+

| Culture & entertainment

+

| Casino

+

| Area

+

| Large hotel-casinos perhaps could be Area Places.

+

|-

+

| Culture & entertainment

+

| Club

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Culture & entertainment

+

| Game Club

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Culture & entertainment

+

| Movie Theater

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above.

+

|-

+

| Culture & entertainment

+

| Museum

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above.

+

|-

+

| Culture & entertainment

+

| Music Venue

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above.

+

|-

+

| Culture & entertainment

+

| Performing Arts Venue

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above.

+

|-

+

| Culture & entertainment

+

| Racing Track

+

| Area

+

|

+

|-

+

| Culture & entertainment

+

| Stadium / Arena

+

| Area

+

|

+

|-

+

| Culture & entertainment

+

| Theme Park

+

| Area

+

|

+

|-

+

| Culture & entertainment

+

| Theater

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above.

+

|-

+

| Culture & entertainment

+

| Tourist Attraction / Historic Site

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above.

+

|-

+

| Culture & entertainment

+

| Zoo / Aquarium

+

| Area

+

| Size-dependent

+

|-

+

| Other

+

| Construction Site

+

| Area

+

| Do not map in Canada.

+

|-

+

| Lodging

+

| Bed & Breakfast

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Lodging

+

| Camping / Trailer Park

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above.

+

|-

+

| Lodging

+

| Cottage / Cabin

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Lodging

+

| Hostel

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Lodging

+

| Hotel

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Outdoors

+

| Beach

+

| Area

+

| Do not map without a name.

+

|-

+

| Outdoors

+

| Golf Course

+

| Area

+

|

+

|-

+

| Outdoors

+

| Park

+

| Area

+

| Do not map without a name.

+

|-

+

| Outdoors

+

| Playground

+

| Area

+

| Do not map without a name.

+

|-

+

| Outdoors

+

| Plaza

+

| Point

+

| Unsure about mapping these at all

+

|-

+

| Outdoors

+

| Promenade

+

| Point

+

| Unsure about mapping these at all

+

|-

+

| Outdoors

+

| Scenic Lookout / Viewpoint

+

| Point

+

|

+

|-

+

| Outdoors

+

| Ski Area

+

| Area

+

|

+

|-

+

| Outdoors

+

| Sports Court

+

| Point

+

| Can be Optional Area see notes above.

+

|-

+

| Natural features

+

| Farm

+

| Area

+

| Do not map without a name.

+

|-

+

| Natural features

+

| Forest / Grove

+

| Area

+

| Only map official state/national forests, not every stand of trees.

+

|-

+

| Natural features

+

| Island

+

| Area

+

|

+

|-

+

| Natural features

+

| River / Stream

+

| Area

+

| Use only if water itself is visually obvious to drivers on nearby roads. Do not remap features already present in the built-in Waze water layer unless that layer is incomplete or inaccurate. Map only the typical extent of visible water, not adjacent open space, greenbelt, culvert, meadows, or flood plain. If the river/stream is too narrow to map conveniently with an Area Place, it should not be mapped at all.

+

|-

+

| Natural features

+

| Sea / Lake / Pond

+

| Area

+

| Use only if water itself is visually obvious to drivers on nearby roads. Do not remap features already present in the built-in Waze water layer unless that layer is incomplete or inaccurate. Map only the typical extent of visible water, not adjacent beaches or land. If the feature is too small to map conveniently with an Area Place, it should not be mapped at all.

[[File:Emergency.jpg|right|300px|Emergency.jpg]] "Emergency and Authorized Vehicles Only" are to be treated as Non-drivable roads. These are found primarily through the median of divided highways to connect opposite direction lanes.

+

+

*Recommended not to map them in Canada.

+

+

==Ferries==

+

+

Please do not use the [[Ferries|ferry road type]], it's not yet functional in Waze. Canada will adopt [[Road_types/USA#Ferry|U.S. guidelines]] with respect to ferries.

+

+

* Use the FC/RC classification of the road leading to the ferry crossing.

+

* If the ferry has a toll, mark it as a [[Best_map_editing_practice#Toll_roads|toll road]].

+

+

== Technical information ==

+

+

Please see the article [[Technical Information]].

+

+

[[Category:Canada]]

Latest revision as of 18:19, 20 July 2015

Complete Guide to Waze in Canada

Since the USA and Canada share the same Waze server, many of the policies and best practices that have been developed for the US also apply to Canada. This page contains information that is unique to Canada. Because some of it is still being developed, please follow the guidance for the US where it is not in conflict with the information here.

Help Improve Waze

Use your language skills

Waze is strongly committed to supporting the different countries and languages of the world but depends on your help.

The Waze client app has over 1000 words and phrases to be translated into languages used around the world. Some are nearly finished. Some are halfway done. Some of them haven't even started! If you read and write more than one language, you can help with the translation. Even one phrase helps - you don't have to do it all!

Forums

Feel free to post questions and ask for advice in your editing. Our region is very different in a number of ways from the United States, so the generic editing guidelines don't always apply.

Area/Country Managers

If you are an Area Manager that covers part of Canada, or a Country Manager that does a lot of work in Canada, please add yourself to this list. See comments via an "Edit" of this section to add yourself.

Unlock Requests

Closures

This form allows for complete (or directional, i.e. A->B only) closures to be reported. Partial closures (i.e. one of two lanes in a direction) should not be reported.

Major Events (e.g. Commonwealth Games, Tour d'Alberta, etc.) should still be dealt with using the Waze Major Events form.

This method is preferred over adding restrictions -- it is nearly immediate (processed several times per day by Waze staff), and does not rely on a tile rebuild. The closure will also be visible in the app and on the livemap, in addition to avoiding routing through the segment.

City Naming

Towns, cities villages etc... To save space just put in the name of the city, example "Toronto" not "City of Toronto", or for smaller places use "Springfield" not "Town of Springfield" or "Village of Springfield".

NEVER include the province in the City field. For example don't put in "Springfield, Qc" or "Springfield, On".

If you find a city that can't save without the province name (perhaps it changes when you save it, or generates other save error), please post a message in the applicable province's forum.

This applies to both primary names and alternate names -- the alternate city is assumed to be in the primary province and country.

Road Naming

Highways

Minor/Major Highways should be named in this format:

Hwy # (H is capitalized, the 'wy' in lower case, followed by a number) e.g. Hwy 16

Not 'Highway #' or 'HWY # (all caps)'.

Where the signage indicates the highway based on a name ("Lougheed Hwy" or "Sooke Rd"), the name should be used. If, however, the signage refers to it by number primarily, that is to be the primary name, regardless of the local knowledge (e.g. the Sea-to-Sky Highway is signed as Hwy 99).

Road Types

Within Metropolitan Areas

In the US, the DOT has a Functional Classification system which had been adopted by Waze Champs as the method for classifying different road types. Overall, this has resulted in use of the highway types for arterial roads in the metropolitan areas, with the Primary Street type being available for collector-type roads.

Unfortunately, we don't have the same standardized government-published maps to adopt here, but we can consider many of the same principles. This was first looked at in Edmonton, and seems to have been met with great success.

With that in mind, we'd like to consider the following criteria for use within metropolitan areas and any city with a population exceeding ~40,000. In the event that the infrastructure of a smaller city has been designed with arterial routes, this may be adopted there, but will typically be less obvious.

If the local government has published maps that define arterial and collector routes, please use those to set the street types.

Changing of Types

As a highway enters a city/town, it often becomes a named street, and sometimes would no longer fit the usual criteria for a "highway".

Due to a number of reasons, including long-distance routing issues, as well as appearance, the highway should remain as the same type it entered the city/town (except if it's a Freeway -- if it no longer fits the Freeway criteria, it may be downgraded to Major Highway until it is again a Freeway).

Entrance ramps are typically designed with an acceleration zone so that cars can accelerate up to freeway speeds before merging into freeway traffic

Exit ramps are typically designed with a deceleration zone so that traffic can exit the freeway at freeway speeds without obstructing traffic, then have sufficient distance to slow down before any turns

When considering the road type, use the above noted Freeway classification as a guideline, with the idea that a Canadian "Freeway" may lack one of the criteria (e.g. Whitemud Freeway in Edmonton is 80 km/h, but meets all other criteria; Hwy 16 W of Edmonton doesn't have ramps for every junction, but meets all other criteria)

Major Highway

Use for major arterial roads. Often these have 2-3 lanes (or more) in each direction, and may be structured to be turned into freeways eventually. Usually this means relatively few intersections, higher speed limit, and higher capacity.

Additionally, if a road enters an area as a Freeway, but then loses its limited-access situation, it will generally continue on as a Major Highway.

If only one type of arterial is used by the municipality on their maps, the decision between a "major" and a "minor" will be that of relative importance and capacity. Generally, a "major" will have 2+ lanes, whereas a minor may only have one. Local knowledge is also especially useful in determining this.

Minor Highway

Use for arterial roads. They are more direct than using collector roads and sometimes have slightly increased speed limits.

Primary Street

Suitable for collector roads through neighbourhoods and thoroughfares that aren't arterial.

Outside Metropolitan Areas

Trans-Canada Highway

There are parts of the TCH that travel through National/Provincial parks with frequent stops, reduced speed and undivided portions. These segments should be reduced to a Major Highway until the speed increases, stops are minimized or the highway is divided again.

Quebec Roads

Autoroutes, or limited access highways, such as the 20/40/55 or any *40 are considered freeways

The big exception to this rule is Autoroute 50 which is still a freeway, even though some small parts of it are not limited access and some are only two lane with no divider.

The official road map of Quebec should be consulted to determine the status of provincial routes. The map is available in French and English.

Major highways on the map are in depicted in red and should be red in Waze.

Minor highways in yellow-orange on the map should be in yellow.

A very general rule of thumb is that 100-series highways are in red while 200 and 300-series highways are in yellow. This is not completely accurate, however, so please consult the official map.

Ontario Roads

All 400 series highways are in blue as they are limited access freeways. Also other highways, for example the 174 just east of Ottawa, are in blue as they are limited access.

Certain Major highways are two lane but are still in red because they collect the minor highways, and many county roads and we need to distinguish them, examples are the 174 east of Ottawa/Orleans, the 17, the 138, 38 the 7 in eastern Ontario.

County roads may be in yellow if they have higher speed limits than most main roads around them. Not all county roads should be designated "Minor Highway" -- grid roads should be addressed like Alberta's Range / Township Roads.

Alberta Roads

Freeways in Canada need to follow a different standard than in the US.

Currently in Alberta, only ring roads (perimeter roads around a city), Hwy 1 (including the highways Hwy 1 splits into), Hwy 2, Hwy 16, and any highways with limited access (e.g. highways with no traffic lights, and access is exclusive to ramps entrances).

When considering the road type, use the above noted Freeway classification as a guideline, with the idea that a Canadian "Freeway" may lack one of the criteria (e.g. Whitemud Freeway in Edmonton is 80 km/h, but meets all other criteria; Hwy 16 W of Edmonton doesn't have ramps for every junction, but meets all other criteria)

Generally highways in the 1–216 series are major highways (except when they are freeways), and highways in the 500–999 series are minor highways. However, a highway with a letter suffix in its number should generally be one type lower than the corresponding highway without the letter suffix. For example Hwy 2A is major highway, one type lower than Hwy 2 (freeway), and Hwy 13A in Camrose is minor highway, one type lower than Hwy 13 (major highway).

Some highways in the 500–999 series are gravel, and this raises a dilemma for Waze editors because Waze lacks a road type for all-weather gravel roads. The consensus is to use "Dirt road / 4X4 Trail" for gravel highways in regions where paved alternative routes are available for many destinations, but to use "Minor Highway" in regions where there are no paved alternatives.

Township and Range Roads

Township and range roads are maintained and signed by the local municipal district (MD). Some MDs have chosen a numbering format with a hyphen before the last digit (e.g. “Township Rd 38-4”) but most have chosen a hyphenless format (e.g. “Range Rd 15”). In WME, the road names should follow the local format as used on the signs. Abbreviate “Rd” but leave “Township” and “Range” unabbreviated.

Township and Range roads are not highways and should be (at highest) Primary Street.

List (incomplete) of MDs that use hyphens: Clearwater County, Lacombe County, Mountain View County, Stettler County

British Columbia Roads

Freeways in Canada need to follow a different standard than in the US.

When considering the road type, use the above noted Freeway classification as a guideline, with the idea that a Canadian "Freeway" may lack one of the criteria (e.g. Whitemud Freeway in Edmonton is 80 km/h, but meets all other criteria; Hwy 16 W of Edmonton doesn't have ramps for every junction, but meets all other criteria)

Highways are defined by the provincial numbering scheme. Any numbered route will be either a Freeway, Major Highway or Minor Highway, regardless of the use of stop lights or the path it takes through a city/town.

Additionally, streets that are named "Highway" (e.g. Barnet Highway in Burnaby) may also receive a highway classification.

Differentiation between a major and minor highway is largely based on its destination and importance of the route. Also, a highway with a letter suffix in its number should generally be one type lower than the corresponding highway without the letter suffix. For example Hwy 19A in Courtenay is major highway, one type lower than Hwy 19 (freeway), and Hwy 4A in Coombs is minor highway, one type lower than Hwy 4 (major highway).

Alleys

Alleys should not be added to the map. In some cases (e.g. Vancouver and Toronto areas), we have left the ones in place, but in most cases they should be removed.

This is particularly relevant to basemapped areas that included them -- e.g. Saskatchewan -- small towns should certainly have the alleyways removed.

In places where they are retained, they should have their city name set and the "None" box checked for Street Name. They should also be changed to Parking Lot street type.

Locking Standard

Canada has active "Traffic Locks", these locks are based on usage from users. They are limited to a max rank of 4, but can be any rank below.

Segments that have restricted turns must be locked to a minimum Level 3.

If the current lock or traffic lock is higher than the minimum standards listed below, please don't lower the lock.

Minimum Road Locking Rank Standard

Segment Type

Minimum locks

Freeway

4

Ramp

highest rank of connected segment

3

Major Highway

4

Minor Highway

3

Primary Street

2

Street

1

:|:|:|:|:Railroad:|:|:|:|:

4

Place Editing

PUR should be reviewed for accuracy, once approved all relevant information pertaining to the place should be entered. Please use each company's website to gather all the information you can. Once a place is complete please lock to rank 3.

This practice will prevent app trusted users and most IGN editors from making incorrect changes to places we know are right. App trusted users and IGN editors are rarely rank 3.

Following are general standards for place locking in Canada:

Place Minimum Locking Rank Standard

Place Type

Minimum locks

Airports

4

Hospitals

4

Major Tourist Attractions/Landmarks

4

Police/Fire Stations

3

Gas Stations

3

Telephone Number Format for Waze Places

Place Naming

Place Naming in Canada should adhere to the following guidelines. Following the government agency naming guide is a list of businesses which are chains or franchises. Please use these name spellings when creating or updating a place.

Hospitals

Hospitals with Emergency Rooms must have a separate Waze Place with "ER/Urgence" prefixed in the primary name, for example:

ER - Brampton Civic Hospital

ER - St. Michael's Hospital

Urgence - Hôpital de Verdun

Government Agencies

Police Stations: City, Agency followed by division name, for example:

Toronto Police 12 Division

Peel Police 22 Division

OPP Collingwood Detachment

Fire Stations: City, Agency followed by station number, for example:

Brampton Fire Station 221

Toronto Fire Station 347

Place Name Harmonization

If you don't find the business you're looking for, please use this form to submit the missing information.

When to use Area or Point in Canada

Here is the Canadian guidance on selecting Area or Point for Places in the Waze Map Editor.

Optional Area shall only be used after consulting local area managers on regional guidelines. The place must be a significant landmark with navigational value in the community. For example: a Tim Hortons in Hepburn, SK (population 500) is of significance. However, the same sized Tim Hortons is of zero significance in the Greater Toronto Area.

We do not want to impose hard & fast rules for the Optional Area category. Please use some judgement, we do not want to see wall-to-wall areas for every single building structure on the map.

Optional Area shall be landmarked to just the building structure only, do not include the parking lot area.

Fence-line Areas shall be landmarked from fence line to fence line to include all parking lots, roads, and anything associated with the property. Parking lot roads (PLRs), parking lots, and gas stations all serve the same purpose.

The Primary Category for a Place is used to determine whether to use a Point or Area.

There are very few parking lots which should be mapped at all. Please see the Places/Parking lot article.

Transportation

Airport

Fence-line Area

Special-handling

Transportation

Bridge

Area

Should only be use for bridges with significance: Peace Bridge, Golden-gate Bridge

Transportation

Bus Station

Point

Transportation

Ferry Pier

Point

Transportation

Junction / Interchange

Area

Will not be used in Canada.

Transportation

Seaport / Marina / Harbor

Area

Size-dependent.

Transportation

Subway Station

Point

Transportation

Taxi Station

Point

Transportation

Train Station

Point

Transportation

Tunnel

Area

Professional and public

Cemetery

Fence-line Area

Professional and public

City Hall

Point

Professional and public

College / University

Area

Professional and public

Conventions / Event Centre

Area

Size-dependent

Professional and public

Courthouse

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above.

Professional and public

Embassy / Consulate

Area

Professional and public

Factory / Industrial

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above.

Professional and public

Fire Department

Area

Professional and public

Government

Optional Area

Professional and public

Hospital / Medical Care

Area

ONLY Hospitals, Emergency Rooms, and places offering Urgent Medical Care should use this category. ERs encompassed in a hospital Place Area should be Points.

Clinics, and Medical offices which do not offer urgent medical care for Walk-Ins should use the Office, (and any other appropriate) category instead.

Professional and public

Information Point

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above.

Professional and public

Kindergarten

Point

Professional and public

Library

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above.

Professional and public

Military

Area

Professional and public

Offices

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above.

Professional and public

Organization or Association

Point

Professional and public

Police Station

Area

Professional and public

Prison / Correctional Facility

Area

Professional and public

Post Office

Point

Professional and public

Religious Centre

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above.

Professional and public

School

Fence-line Area

Shopping and services

Arts & Crafts

Point

Shopping and services

ATM

Point

Shopping and services

Bank / Financial

Point

Shopping and services

Bookstore

Point

Shopping and services

Car Dealership

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above.

Shopping and services

Car Rental

Point

Shopping and services

Convenience Store

Point

Shopping and services

Currency Exchange

Point

Shopping and services

Department Store

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above.

Shopping and services

Electronics

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above.

Shopping and services

Fashion and Clothing

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above.

Shopping and services

Flowers

Point

Shopping and services

Furniture / Home Store

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above.

Shopping and services

Gifts

Point

Shopping and services

Gym / Fitness

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above.

Shopping and services

Hardware Store

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above.

Shopping and services

Jewellery

Point

Shopping and services

Laundry / Dry Cleaning

Point

Shopping and services

Market

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above.

Shopping and services

Music Store

Point

Shopping and services

Personal Care

Point

Shopping and services

Pet Store / Veterinarian

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above.

Shopping and services

Pharmacy

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above.

Shopping and services

Photography

Point

Shopping and services

Shopping Centre

Area

Shopping and services

Sporting Goods

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above.

Shopping and services

Supermarket / Grocery

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above. Must be a Point if it is part of larger shopping mall/center.

Shopping and services

Swimming Pool

Point

Shopping and services

Toy Store

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above.

Shopping and services

Travel Agency

Point

Food and drink

Bakery

Point

Food and drink

Bar

Point

Food and drink

Coffee shop

Point

Food and drink

Dessert

Point

Food and drink

Fast Food

Point

Food and drink

Food Court

Point

Food and drink

Ice Cream

Point

Food and drink

Restaurant

Point

Culture & entertainment

Art Gallery

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above.

Culture & entertainment

Casino

Area

Large hotel-casinos perhaps could be Area Places.

Culture & entertainment

Club

Point

Culture & entertainment

Game Club

Point

Culture & entertainment

Movie Theater

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above.

Culture & entertainment

Museum

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above.

Culture & entertainment

Music Venue

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above.

Culture & entertainment

Performing Arts Venue

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above.

Culture & entertainment

Racing Track

Area

Culture & entertainment

Stadium / Arena

Area

Culture & entertainment

Theme Park

Area

Culture & entertainment

Theater

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above.

Culture & entertainment

Tourist Attraction / Historic Site

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above.

Culture & entertainment

Zoo / Aquarium

Area

Size-dependent

Other

Construction Site

Area

Do not map in Canada.

Lodging

Bed & Breakfast

Point

Lodging

Camping / Trailer Park

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above.

Lodging

Cottage / Cabin

Point

Lodging

Hostel

Point

Lodging

Hotel

Point

Outdoors

Beach

Area

Do not map without a name.

Outdoors

Golf Course

Area

Outdoors

Park

Area

Do not map without a name.

Outdoors

Playground

Area

Do not map without a name.

Outdoors

Plaza

Point

Unsure about mapping these at all

Outdoors

Promenade

Point

Unsure about mapping these at all

Outdoors

Scenic Lookout / Viewpoint

Point

Outdoors

Ski Area

Area

Outdoors

Sports Court

Point

Can be Optional Area see notes above.

Natural features

Farm

Area

Do not map without a name.

Natural features

Forest / Grove

Area

Only map official state/national forests, not every stand of trees.

Natural features

Island

Area

Natural features

River / Stream

Area

Use only if water itself is visually obvious to drivers on nearby roads. Do not remap features already present in the built-in Waze water layer unless that layer is incomplete or inaccurate. Map only the typical extent of visible water, not adjacent open space, greenbelt, culvert, meadows, or flood plain. If the river/stream is too narrow to map conveniently with an Area Place, it should not be mapped at all.

Natural features

Sea / Lake / Pond

Area

Use only if water itself is visually obvious to drivers on nearby roads. Do not remap features already present in the built-in Waze water layer unless that layer is incomplete or inaccurate. Map only the typical extent of visible water, not adjacent beaches or land. If the feature is too small to map conveniently with an Area Place, it should not be mapped at all.

Emergency Vehicle Roads

"Emergency and Authorized Vehicles Only" are to be treated as Non-drivable roads. These are found primarily through the median of divided highways to connect opposite direction lanes.